YouTube Video MP3 Downloader has to be the easiest YouTube downloader yet. This FREE software gives you the ability to convert a YouTube video to MP3 (audio only) or to various video formats in six easy steps. As an added bonus, following the installation, you can turn YouTube Video MP3 Downloader into a portable app that can be carried on your flash drive. If you are using Windows 7, you can minimize the program during a download and monitor the status of the download via the YouTube Video MP3 Downloader icon on the taskbar. As the title of the article suggests, YouTube Video MP3 Downloader is “A YouTube Downloader So Easy That Grandma Can Do It”…

Mozilla recently pre-released Firefox 7, also known as Aurora, which promises massive performance enhancements for Javascript and significantly lower memory usage. Over the past few years, Mozilla had gained a reputation as a somewhat slow browser, but that’s about to change with Aurora. This version sits right between the stable beta release of Firefox 6.0 and the highly experimental nightly builds currently running at version 8.0.

One of the first major improvements of note is a massive reduction in overall memory consumption. According to the company’s developer blog, memory fragmentation of Javascript objects has been a serious problem. For example, after closing a Javascript applet the memory it previously occupied would not be entirely regained and eventually the browser’s memory usage would grow exponentially, leading to massive slowdowns. This issue has been fixed in Aurora. Additionally, the “garbage collector” runs more frequently to clear up memory occupied by Firefox. Users can also now see how much memory is occupied by individual components of the browser with the new and improved “about : memory” page.

This enhanced memory is good news for serious multi-tab users, who often experience a delay in page loads. Firefox 5 users especially may have found multi-tab loading particularly cumbersome. TuneUp recently conducted a performance intense memory usage benchmark to test how the new browser measured up. With 27 tabs, Firefox 5 claims an astonishing 659 MB of RAM for itself after all tabs have finished loading. Compared to Firefox 7.0a2, loading 27 websites dropped from current memory usage of 670 MB to 496 MB. Firefox.exe peaked at only 658 MB.

To put these results into perspective, Internet Explorer 9 needed a total of 814 MB with a peak at almost 1.3 GB to display the 27 websites which is an incredibly large amount. Google Chrome’s latest beta release consumed 693 MB and peaked at 1.1 GB. It was surprising to see Firefox 7 as the most resource-friendly browser.

This new version of Firefox is optimized for web developers as well. Since optimizing the browser is only one part of the equation, Mozilla also integrated performance monitoring tools to help developers gauge how fast their websites’ navigation works. Firefox logs websites’ responsiveness so that developers can optimize their own websites accordingly.

Overall, Mozilla has done some incredible work improving their performance. Other browsers need to follow suit as users’ move to low-powered devices such as netbooks and tablets, which increases the demand for lean browsers. It will be interesting to see the additional improvements Mozilla has made to the final version and what’s in store for Firefox 8.

Have you ever booted up your PC only to get a black screen? When this happens, something’s clearly wrong, so you’ve probably tried a number of steps to get your PC running again. But what should you do if those solutions don’t help? Try using Microsoft’s System Sweeper to get rid of the malware that’s messed with your system’s boot files.

System Sweeper is a boot-up recovery tool that performs an offline scan on an infected PC to identify and remove rootkits and other advanced malware—without booting into Windows. You can also use System Sweeper if you cannot install or start your antivirus solution, or if the installed solution can’t detect or remove malware on your machine. Based on Microsoft Security Essentials, System Sweeper should get PCs back on track; however, it’s important to remember that System Sweeper is not a replacement for an antivirus solution that provides ongoing protection.

Let’s take a look at how to run System Sweeper when you cannot start your PC and quickly get rid of malware.

Step 1: Download System Sweeper. Go to Microsoft Connect to obtain the beta version of the program. Make sure to choose the right version (32-bit or 64-bit) depending on what your infected system is running. The supported web browsers are Internet Explorer 6 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox 2 or higher.

Step 2: Create a bootable recovery CD or USB thumb drive. System Sweeper can be installed on both a CD and on USB flash memory. You should first get a blank CD or a reformatted USB thumb drive with at least 250 MB of space. Then, go to your Downloads folders, and run the “mssstool32” or “mssstool64” files depending on which architecture you have. System Sweeper will download the latest antivirus signature files onto the disk, and then burn them onto either the bootable CD or USB thumb drive.

You should then insert the CD or plug the USB key into the computer you’re trying to clean up, and make sure to boot from the CD/DVD drive or the USB port. To do that, go to the BIOS of the machine by pressing DELETE, F2, F12 or another special key repeatedly right when the PC is turned on. Then, go to its boot section, make sure that the “Boot Priority” is set to either CDROM (DVD) or USB, and restart the PC.

Step 3: Use System Sweeper. Your PC should ask you to “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD”—follow this advice and wait until the recovery environment is loaded. Once System Sweeper appears on the screen, hit “Start full scan” to scan all of the hard disks for viruses and malware.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you can let System Sweeper run its course, but keep in mind that it might take a while depending on the amount of data. It will be worth the wait to enjoy a clean and bootable PC again.

Have you ever gotten the ‘Blue Screen of Death’ or a cryptic error message upon starting your Windows PC? These scenarios can baffle not only beginner computer users, but even IT professionals. Luckily, there are some very effective ways to troubleshoot these start-up problems, repair Windows using Microsoft’s own tools and get your PC running again.

If Windows doesn’t start, restore your system using the “Last Known Good Configuration” mode. It restores many of the changes you made during your last Windows session, such as driver updates, system settings and registry changes.

After it has failed to load, Windows should automatically offer the “Windows Advanced Options Menu” to Windows XP users or the “Windows Error Recovery” screen to Windows Vista and Windows 7 users. However, if that screen does not appear, repeatedly press the F8 key right before the Windows boot logo would normally appear. Select “Last Known Good Configuration”, and wait for Windows to boot up. This restoration method should work in the majority of cases.

If it doesn’t, select the “Safe Mode” option, and try to manually undo all of the changes you made the last time Windows worked. You may need to uninstall a program, a driver or an update to resolve the start-up issue.

Windows XP users can also use the installation CD to try and repair their system. It contains an option to restore all of the operating system’s files, including those that are responsible for Windows XP to start.

To repair the operating system, insert the installation CD, and hit a key when Windows asks you to “Press any key to boot from CD”. Wait a moment, and then hit “Enter” when it says “Welcome to Setup”. Hit “F8″ and then “R” to perform a repair installation. This should get your Windows XP system up and running again.

If the repair option is unavailable, the CD you’re using isn’t recognizing the Windows XP installation. This could have happened for several reasons; for example, you might be using an older Windows XP installation CD that is compatible with Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2, but you might have already upgraded your system to Service Pack 3.

However, you still have the option to manually repair the startup files. Again, insert the installation CD, and hit a key when Windows asks you to “Press any key to boot from CD”. Wait a moment, and then hit “Enter” when it says “Welcome to Setup”. Then, press “R” to enter the recovery console, select your Windows installation (usually 1 for drive C:), and log in to the administrator account. Now enter the command: Bootcfg /rebuild. This tool scans your hard disk for your Windows XP installation. It should come back with something like “[1]: C:\Windows”.

To add your installation to the boot list, hit “Y”, and press “Enter”. Next, enter the name of the operating system you want to appear in the boot menu. This is irrelevant on computers with only one operating system, but you could type in “Windows XP Home Edition” or “Windows XP Professional Edition”, for instance. Next, the Bootcfg tool asks you to “Enter OS Load Options”. Type in “/Fastdetect”, and Windows should load as normal.

On the other hand, Windows Vista and Windows 7 users have the ability to perform a “Start-up Repair”. This feature solves the most common start-up issues, like repairing common registry keys, system files and drivers usually associated with a failed system start.

Fully integrated into Windows 7, the feature has proven to be very effective.After an unsuccessful start-up, “Windows Error Recovery” will open and allow you to launch it. “Start-Up Repair” will then automatically detect and repair any problems, but bear in mind that this process might take awhile.

If you’re using Windows Vista, or if your Windows 7 system was not able to launch the feature, you can manually start it. Turn on your computer, insert the Windows DVD, and hit a key when Windows asks you to. Wait for it to start, hit “Next” and select “Repair your computer”.

Confirm the Windows installation, and hit “Next”. You’ll then be in “Windows Recovery Environment.” From there, just click on “Start-up Repair” to troubleshoot your system.

If you’ve performed “Start-Up Repair” and are still having Windows start-up problems, you’ll need to rebuild the start-up files. Boot into “Windows Recovery Environment”, and instead of launching “Start-Up Repair”, select “Command Prompt”. Now, enter the following commands one by one, and confirm each with Enter:

bcdedit /export C:\Boot_Backup

c:

cd boot

attrib bcd -s -h -r

ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old

bootrec /RebuildBcd

This will back up your old start configuration data and create an entirely new startup system. Continue on by entering the following commands:

Bootrec /FixBoot

Bootrec /RebuildBcd

Once done, reboot your system to see if your PC is running again.

These four repair methods should hopefully leave you with a working Windows system again. For additional tips and tricks to restore and maintain PC performance, I invite you to visit the TuneUp Blog about Windows (http://blog.tune-up.com).

To the readers of my blog, make sure you visit Tech-for Everyone and enter for a chance to receive one of the licenses that Tech Paul has available for TuneUp Utilities 2010. TuneUp Utilities is a very reputable, well known, maintenance utility that is designed to keep your PC in tip top shape. Do not miss out on this opportunity; AND, while you are at Tech-for Everyone, be sure to browse around. I will guarantee you that you will learn something NEW!

To enter the drawing, simply visit Tech-for Everyone [ HERE ] , THEN click on “comment”, and enter a name and valid e-mail in the form. That’s all there is to it… GOOD LUCK!

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